'Chosin' Documentary Captures Little Known Korean War Heroism

Anton Sattler isn’t your typical Hollywood player.

The University of Pittsburgh graduate joined the Marines after college, and it was there where he was taught the discipline needed to make films in a tough environment. He also learned of a real story that demanded the big screen treatment.

The result? Chosin, the award-winning documentary chronicling a heroic tale involving trapped U.S. soldiers. The film will make its cable premiere at 9 p.m. EST Memorial Day on the American Heroes Channel.

In the Marines he learned of a story so powerful that he felt compelled to tell it to a wider audience: the 1950 Chosin Reservoir Campaign, in which 15,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines were surrounded by 120,000 Chinese soldiers in Korea. They fought their way 78 miles to the sea, and rescued 98,000 refugees in the process.

“If you aren’t into the Marine Corps or aren’t a military history buff it’s not really well known,” Sattler said.

Sattler interviewed 186 veterans to prepare for Chosin, which won the best documentary feature at the 2010 GI Film Festival. The film’s journey didn’t end there. Chosin inspired two graphic novels as well as an animated short Chosin: Baptized by Fire.